DS 7-7R 17-12R Semiconductor Fabrication Facilities ... - FM Global

7-7R
REFERENCE DOCUMENT
17-12R SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION FACILITIES
Page 36
Package—The finished integrated circuit unit which consists of the chip fastened to a frame inside a ceramic
or plastic case whose metal leads can be inserted into printed circuit boards. Can also refer to the case only.
Passivation—Usually a silicon dioxide or silicon nitride layer put over an existing layer of the wafer to protect
against moisture, contamination and abrasion.
Pass-through—An enclosure installed in a wall with a door on each side that allows chemicals, production
materials, equipment and parts to be transferred from one side of the wall to the other.
Pattern Generator—Optical or E-Beam tool used to make the mask plates or reticles.
PECVD—Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition.
Pellicle—A protective film covering on a frame adhered to a mask plate which keeps contaminants off the
mask surface.
Photoresist—A light-sensitive, frequently flammable liquid which is sprayed on the wafer, exposed and developed
to make the circuit image during the wafer fabrication process. Similar to film in an ordinary camera
in its sensitivity to light.
Plasma—A high energy gas made up of ionized particles.
Plasma Etcher—A machine in which a high energy RF field excites the gas molecules in the chamber to
a high level causing a reaction in which unprotected sections of an oxide layer are removed.
Plasma Etching—An etching process which accomplishes results similar to the chemical etch mechanism
reaction using an etching gas instead of a wet chemical.
Polishing—The process whereby a mirror-like finish is put on raw wafers after slicing.
Poly—Polycrystalline silicon. Usually grown in layers epitaxially to form part of the circuit structure. Also the
raw material for the melt for crystal growth.
Projection/Promixity—Masking exposure methods in which the wafer and mask plate have no contact,
thus lengthening the mask usage due to less contamination of the mask plate.
Puller—Furnace for growing silicon crystals. Refers to the process of pulling the crystal out of the molten
silicon.
Pyrophoric—A substance which ignites spontaneously in air below 130°F (54°C).
RCA Clean—A multiple-step process to clean wafers before oxidation; named after RCA, the company that
developed the procedure. Chemicals used include mixtures of water, hydrogen peroxide and ammonium
hydroxide (step 1) or hydrochloric acid (step 2).
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)—An etching process that combines plasma and ion beam removal of the surface
layer. The etchant gas enters the reaction chamber and is ionized. The individual molecules accelerate
to the wafer surface. At the surface, the top layer removal is achieved by the physical and chemical
removal of the material.
Reticle—A miniature reproduction of one layer of a circuit drawing on an emulsion or chrome covered glass
plate. Typically 5xor10xinsize it will be reduced and reproduced many times on a mask blank.
RTO (Rapid Thermal Oxidation)—An RTP technology used to grow very thin (usually less than 100
Angstorms) MOS gate oxide layers.
RTP (Rapid Thermal Processing)—A process usually using high intensity tungsten halogen lamps to heat
and cool a wafer in seconds.
Seed—In crystal growing a piece of single-crystal structured silicon which upon contact with the melt (molten
poly-silicon) starts a crystal or ingot to be grown which has same single-crystal structure as that of the seed.
SEM—Scanning Electron Microscope. Used in examining portions of circuit by allowing the viewer to see
an image as much as 15,000 times its actual size.
Semiconductor—An element such as silicon or germanium intermediate in electrical conductivity between
the conductors and the insulators.
Slicing—The cutting of a silicon crystal in a saw in order to make wafers on which ICs will be made.
©2003 Factory Mutual Insurance Company. All rights reserved.